Business News - VNGGames and its efforts to bring Vietnamese Esports to the regional level

With a young population, open digital economic potential and close support from domestic gaming businesses such as VNGGames, Vietnamese eSports is gradually asserting its position on the world eSports map.

According to statistics from YouGov, by 2023, the number of eSports followers in Vietnam will account for 16% of the population, equivalent to Indonesia and Taiwan. The period 2022-2023 will witness the explosion of domestic tournaments, with the total prize value in 2023 reaching more than 41 billion VND, an increase of 32.26% compared to 2022, according to Esports Earning.

In 2023, total revenue from e -sports in Vietnam will reach 5.78 million USD, an increase of 11.15% compared to 2022. In terms of market revenue, Vietnam has surpassed Singapore, and is gradually catching up with leading countries in the region such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Esports is not just a simple entertainment industry but also creates widespread economic value, promoting the development of the event, media and tourism service industries. This is the bridge that helps brands reach a generation of young, dynamic and highly engaged consumers. For example, the 2022 Worlds event in San Francisco and New York created an economic impact of 53 million USD; or Worlds 2024 is predicted to bring an additional 12 million pounds (equivalent to 15.5 million USD) to the London economy.

Not only that, eSports also creates a new job ecosystem for the digital economy. Worldwide, the eSports industry creates tens of thousands of jobs related to content production, event organization, software development and marketing. In the US, this industry recorded more than 50,000 direct jobs in 2023 and is expected to increase by 20% by 2025. According to Forbes, the state of Georgia (USA) benefits 500 million USD and 12,000 jobs from eSports.

Mr. Nguyen Tran Son, Director of Esports Development of VNGGames, said that Vietnam has a big advantage in the eSports race thanks to its young population and strong gaming culture. Social awareness of games is also gradually changing as this sport appears in major sports events such as the SEA Games or ASIAD . Moreover, eSports also opens up the potential to promote Vietnam's image and culture through connecting the community and exporting digital content internationally.

Many major tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region such as LCP Finals 2025 and First Stand 2027 have chosen Vietnam as a stopover. Riot Games is also surveying and planning to film a 9-episode TV series, based on the game League of Legends and the online cartoon of the same name in Cat Ba, Hai Phong at the end of 2025.

According to Mr. Son, to develop eSports comprehensively, it is necessary to focus on five main factors: Raising social awareness; Completing the legal corridor; Building preferential policies, training and developing high-quality human resources; Encouraging investment from domestic and foreign enterprises; and Building a sustainable eSports ecosystem from community movements to professional tournaments.

In Vietnam, eSports is also beginning to be recognized in the education sector, with formal training programs to meet the demand for high-quality human resources. The University of Technology and Management (UTM) is the first unit to implement an eSports training program according to BTEC standards (UK). Meanwhile, the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology has officially enrolled students in the Game major from September 2024.

“Vietnam is becoming a dynamic eSports hub in the region. To build a truly strong esports ecosystem, we believe that there needs to be a joint effort from the Government, the State and businesses to exploit the economic and social potential of esports. This is demonstrated through promoting supportive policies such as tax incentives, recognizing esports as a legitimate profession, or even integrating esports into the national education program, ” said Ms. Laura Ri, Director of Esports for Asia - Pacific, Riot Games at the Vietnam Game Forum 2025 held on May 26.

As a strategic partner of Riot Games, VNG plays a central role in the professionalization of eSports in Vietnam, from operating professional tournament systems to supporting players in international competitions. Evidence is the Viewing Party event series organized by VNGGames on the occasion of Worlds 2024, which attracted tens of thousands of participants and more than 1.1 million online views nationwide. Along with that, the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) tournament, jointly organized by Riot and VNGGames, has also recorded more than one million online views each season.

At the Vietnam Game Awards 2025 within the framework of Vietnam Gameverse 2025, VNGGames' game Valorant won the title of "Most Favorite E-Sports Community" in the Golden Star category dedicated to e-sports.

According to Newzoo, in 2022, there will be 532 million esports viewers worldwide. Of these, 271 million will be casual viewers. 261 million will be regular viewers. The number of regular esports viewers is expected to reach 318 million by 2025, with an estimated growth rate of 8.1% per year from 2020 to 2025.  

Source: https://www.vng.com.vn/news/enterprise/vnggames-va-nhung-no-luc-dua-esports-viet-nam-vuon-tam-khu-vuc.html